Associate Director Procurement

The opportunity

The NHS is entering a critical period of reform, with increasing pressure to deliver value and sustainability across complex provider and system environments. Procurement has a pivotal role to play in enabling this change; delivering financial savings, supporting service transformation and strengthening supplier and stakeholder relationships.

This Associate Director of Procurement role offers an opportunity to provide visible, credible procurement leadership. You will lead teams, shape strategy and deliver end-to-end procurement solutions that achieve tangible and sustainable impact.

Why join Attain

Attain offers a genuinely different proposition to traditional consultancies. We are a values-led organisation with a strong mix of public sector values and private sector thinking. A high proportion of our people have worked directly within the NHS, giving us real credibility with clients. Our teams work shoulder-to-shoulder with long-term NHS partners to deliver tangible savings, improve services and make a lasting impact.

We are deeply people-focused, investing heavily in career development, learning and leadership, with clear opportunities to progress within our business and into senior roles leading projects, care sectors and or portfolios. As a growing business, Attain offers exposure to varied, high-impact work, meaningful responsibility, and the chance to shape how we operate. We reward contribution and performance, foster a supportive and inclusive culture, and place real value on doing the right thing, for our people, our clients and the communities they serve.

The role

In this role you will be responsible for

Leading and developing high-performing procurement teams
Line and performance management of staff, including capability development
Providing senior procurement leadership for clients, including overseeing different spend categories
Operating effectively in hybrid delivery models, with regular on-site presence within Provider Trusts
Ensuring robust governance, delivery discipline and stakeholder confidence
Providing expert advice and leadership on procurement compliance (Procurement Act 2023 / Provider Selection Regime / NHS Procurement policy / NHS Standard T&Cs)

Skills and ways of working

You will demonstrate

Confident with strong leadership skills
Agile and adaptable ways of working
Excellent risk management approach - balance between outcomes/timescales and process/compliance.
A strong action-orientation and delivery focus
Resilience in challenging environments
Clear, confident communication skills at all levels
Able to provide assurance through delivery to clients
A commitment to team development and capability building

Stakeholder engagement

You will work closely with

Clinical leaders
Operational teams
Executive and senior leaders
System and organisational stakeholders building trust, credibility and alignment will be central to your success as a leader.

The working environment

The role will be in an NHS provider. The working environment is:

Fast-paced, dynamic and often pressurised
Frequently operating in turnaround or recovery contexts
Requires resilience, adaptability and pace
There is a high degree of focus on delivering cost savings either tactically or strategically

About you

Your current role

You will bring

A strong track record of managing and leading procurement teams
Significant acute or provider-side procurement experience
Demonstrable delivery against challenging financial savings targets
Experience of introducing innovative approaches, processes and ways of working
A clear personal track record of delivery, impact and leadership

Your achievements

Successful candidates will be able to evidence

Delivery of material financial savings
You will have held commercial roles in both the Private and Public sectors
Track record of growing and developing people and future leaders
Strong, supportive and effective people management
Making and owning difficult decisions where required
Acting as a visible leader with strong senior-level engagement and communication skills
Managing and improving poor performance
Effective deployment of category management and strategic sourcing practices
Ability to provide assurance, through delivery and management of others, to senior leaders

Your career background

We are looking for candidates who have

MCIPS desirable; significant relevant procurement experience essential
Led one or more large / complex procurement categories end-to-end
Led high-performing teams
Varied experience across public and private sectors
A strong strategic and system-level perspective
Delivered full lifecycle procurement projects

Your personal attributes

You will be

Aligned to Attain’s values-led culture
Motivated by clear targets and accountability
Comfortable being held to account for outcomes and savings
Calm, credible and assured under pressure
Highly analytical, with strong problem-solving skills
Commercial mindset

The benefits

Competitive salary
Performance/profit-based annual bonus of up to10%
27 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays
6% employer contribution pension scheme
Company-paid subscription to a professional body
Hybrid working but also opportunities to work in coworking spaces
A suite of learning tools to support continuing professional development
Experience a rich variety of delivery projects across different care areas

At Attain our culture and company values promote a supportive and inclusive environment where our employees’ differences are nurtured to enable everyone to reach their full potential. We are committed to a culture where respect and understanding is fostered, and the diversity of people's backgrounds and circumstances are positively valued as they enable Attain to continually bring creativity and innovation to our clients work and internally. Our recruitment process reflects this commitment, focusing on skills, capabilities, and experience to ensure fairness and equity at every step.